Albert Kapikian
From identifying viruses to vaccine research
Albert Kapikian was an American virologist of Armenian descent, born in 1930. He spent many years at the US National Institutes of Health, investigating the viral causes of intestinal infections.
In 1972, he and colleagues identified the Norwalk virus, an important starting point for norovirus research. He also led work that produced the first licensed rotavirus vaccine.
That early vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1998 but withdrawn in 1999 because of its association with intussusception, a form of bowel obstruction. Research continued toward later vaccine generations. Kapikian died in 2014, leaving an important legacy in virology and vaccine development.